anyone got a demountable camper van in the uk ?

Im talking the ones where you sleep above the cab and have a small kitchen sitting area in the truck bed area.

seen them often when i worked in holland and thought they looked quite useful in a weekender van kinda way - never did get inside one though - my dutch wasnt very good to ask for a look.

seems a bit more practical for a house hold car than a small camper van when the campers demounted - although they do look cramped from the limited photos ive found.

just musing anyway - not something id rush to buy , just wondered why we never really see them in the uk - people seem to favour pulling massive caravans with the minimum size of car they can get away with ( and sometimes too small)

although thats 16grand for the camper unit.- that could be why , although they are availible second hand and from different brands for a fraction of that.

I've got one. Mostly for doing 24s and enduros but I have done a bit of touring in Scotland and Wales.

There's usually a couple more at 24s and if you get one you'll find you spot another one every time you're on the motorway. There are always a few for sale on eBay. So they are about.

Internal space is fine for 2, but I wouldn't want kids in there as well. The fixed king size bed makes a big difference. Hot water, hob, grill, heating, full size fridge, toilet etc. Add a pull out awning and you've got plenty of space though. We can get two teams in our awning - 8-10 people.

You do need to add airbag helpers to the suspension if you want a comfortable ride and fuel consumption drops from mid-30s to mid-20s on mine. With the air suspension they drive fine. You have to remind yourself you've got an extra tonne on board rather than it reminding you.

only one i ever saw in the uk was a big yank one fitted to a ford f250 .... and it was stuck in mud - didnt seem like a good time to ask for a look round it

Next time i see one ill speak to the owners and have a week look see.

I have a wee peugeot van that was fine for me on my own , but the mrs is riding nigh on at the same level as me now so we go away together regularly so looking at bigger comfier options - while im happy to sleep on a couple of planks of wood suspended on boxes next to bikes - she is not !

I can't help thinking it's partly because there aren't as many trucks in the UK as elsewhere. You see plenty in North America - also *huge* campertrailers that are basically 2/3 of a Winnebago - but then everyone has a truck there.

was looking at van based campers (not coach built) and it seems that what im willing to spend this time getes me something with 150k-200k on the clock -

but if i go to pick ups with demountables i can get one with reasonable milage and the airbags - 70-90k for the same money and the pick up is a damnsite more convienant for me as my current van spends at least half its time carting rubble and plasterboard to the tip or picking up engines and car parts for me and my mates.

Yeah, they're not big, but fine for two and you can always lounge around on the bed to get out of the cooks way.

Driving is no problem. My Mrs is fine driving it.

You'd only need to cover the jack handle points or put a bar across the front legs to make them secure. I imagine that would be easy enough. I've never worried, it's not like you can just hitch one up and drive off like you can with a caravan. It's a 15 minute job.

That seems to be the best compromise between campervan/Winnebago and caravan, at least from a setting up somewhere and being able to move around from a fixed base without having to pack up and take a huge truck with you.

I'm tempted, but it would mean having to get another 4x4 to drive to work and that would crush my spirit (again).

Europcar rent out a very neat Hilux crew cab one. It looked to be a fibreglass shell with a really tidy raising roof - so maybe a bit better to drive / fuel consumption. I did mean to have a look at one to try and find the manufacturer.

There were some pretty awful coachbuilt ones dumped in the back of F250 pickups - Looked a very lash up way of securing to a pickup bed they weren't originally designed for. Lumps of timber to wedge them in place, nasty steel tubes sticking out from under chassis used for lashing chains, bare 12V battery literally nailed in place with bits of wood.

Have you considered moving up a size... either a demountable on a pickup that sits over the chassis rather than within the rear bed, or the same with a chassis cab van. Demount camper and mount a dropside style bed in its place for daily duties. Rare to find demountables like this though.

Perfect vehicle for me would be a 5t chassis cab van with a demount camper body and a demount horse box body.

I quite fancy one of these. Pickup has zero BIK and it makes a go anywhere camper. tbh I would be tempted to buy an old one and rebuild it as I've got quite a lot of carbon fibre to use up and could make something pretty cool